Demand for Consumer Water Treatment Systems to Reach $13.4 Billion by 2017

Global demand for consumer water treatment systems is projected to increase at more than 12% per year to $13.4 billion in 2017.

“Ongoing economic improvement in several key geographic markets through 2017 will boost gains as the industry recovers from the global recession of 2009 and subsequent restrained home construction activity,” said Freedonia analyst Jennifer Mapes.

In developed areas, urban residents more commonly purchase point-of-use (POU) systems that improve the taste or smell of water or higher value systems that remove contaminants not regulated by public water authorities. A growing number of higher-end systems with specialty features are particularly popular in places such as Japan and South Korea, where water treatment systems are more widely viewed as an appliance rather than simply a functional attachment to the plumbing system.

In developing markets, advances for home water treatment systems will be boosted as consumers switch from habits that are deeply and often culturally ingrained. In many parts of the world with unreliable water quality, residents routinely boil their water before drinking or buy drinking water in bottles, jugs or large containers from an outside source. As personal incomes rise, consumer water treatment systems become an increasingly affordable alternative.

The fastest growth is expected in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries and others such as Mexico and South Africa that do not yet have established markets for consumer water treatment systems. Sales will benefit from increasing personal incomes, improving awareness of water pollution, and the ability to address the problem with water treatment equipment. China was the largest market for these systems in 2012 with 25% of global sales and will account for 41 percent of additional worldwide sales between 2012 and 2017.